The study conducted by UniSA Business researchers, Dr Amanpreet Kaur and Dr Wei Qian, examined annual and sustainability reports for the 448 publicly listed companies with mining operations in Australia.
They investigated company policies relating to Aboriginal people and community based on five key areas suggested by Reconciliation Australia.
“We found only 36 out of the 448 companies – 8 per cent – provided disclosures on their Aboriginal engagement ideology, policy, and initiatives in their annual or sustainability reports,” Dr Kaur says.
“Given the high level of interaction the mining industry has with traditional landowners, that result indicates there is significant potential for improvement in this area.”
While the study suggests there is much improvement to be made in mining industry policy around Aboriginal relationships, the researchers stress their findings were not entirely negative, pointing to some good examples in their research, and suggesting the challenge lies in making other companies aware of more progressive, inclusive industry policies.
